Social Media &
Local Government
What is it and how can it work for us?

What is “Social Media?”
Bobby

Marcia

Jan

ABC
Company
Peter

Alice

Greg

Cindy

All about interactivity

What is “Social Media?”
• Common characteristics:
– It’s about Information and Participation
– Community of users is as significant as the
content itself
– Information is administered not controlled
• Also sometimes called:
– collaborative communication
– online participation
– grassroots web

What is “Social Media?”
•Blogs

•Bookmarks

•Chats/Comments

•Forums

•Mashups

•Networks

•Photo/Video shares

•Podcasts

•Profiles

•Ratings/Reviews

•RSS Feeds

•Tags

•Virtual Worlds

•Widgets
•Wikis

What is “Social Media?”

Social Media in Government
• Web advances in government often are
promoted to:
– Provide efficient, convenient, and secure
service delivery to citizens
– Empower citizens with anytime, anywhere
government access
– Increase citizen participation

Social Media in Government

â&#x20AC;˘ Government agencies are one of the largest

sources of public data, and yet most of it goes
completely unutilized, when it could provide a
platform for countless new public services.
â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Wikinomics: How Mass
Collaboration Changes Everything

Social Media in Government
Page Ratings â&#x20AC;&#x201C; State of IN

Social Media in Government
Flickr Photos - City of Seattle, WA

Social Media in Government
YouTube Videos - Franchise Tax Board, CA

Social Media in Government
YouTube Channel - Marin County, CA

Social Media in Government
Blogs - Dept of Human Rights, MN

Social Media in Government
Wikis â&#x20AC;&#x201C; State Best Practices, CA

Social Media in Government
Podcasts - Government on iTunes

Social Media in Government
Mashups â&#x20AC;&#x201C; EDF with EPA data

Social Media in Government
Widgets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FBI

Social Media in Government
Forums â&#x20AC;&#x201C; UK Local Government

Social Media in Government
Twitter â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ramsey County

Social Media in Government
Mixing it Up â&#x20AC;&#x201C; State of VA

How can it work for us?
• Social software could provide tools for better
communication with our residents:
– Our constituency is changing as most
citizens now have internet access
– Our communication methods, tools and
styles need to change as well

How can it work for us?
• Benefits of utilizing social software:
– We can reach a much broader audience
using a variety of the new tools available
– If we listen to our constituents and
business partners we learn
– Collaboration leads to ideation from a rich
and diverse audience
– Collective approach that captures the
informal knowledge of many

How can it work for us?
Does Social Software have a
place in local government?